Finally Home
by fishdog372
Summary: Alan wakes up from a drug induced sleep; he doesn't know where he is or why he's there. will he be rescued or just put under again with another jab from the needle? One-Shot.


**Finally Home**

by Fishdog

Author's note: All rights to the Thunderbirds belong to it's creater Gerry Anderson (who is awesome btw), and affiliated companies.

* * *

I don't remember who I am. I know that I knew my name once and I know that once upon a time I still believed I would escape. I don't remember the feeling of hope, nor do I remember who I hoped was coming for me, but I do remember thinking about it. A lot. It seems that one day – who knows how long ago – my mind gave up on the idea that I would be rescued. All memories of anyone I might have loved once have been wiped clean and I am left in this dank cell, wondering what I did that meant I deserved to be here.

No one ever refers to me by name, and I think that's why I've forgotten it. They always call me Boy, or Blondie, which I assume implies that I have blonde hair. I once again search my head for any slight hint as to who I am, but every time I eventually just give up, sigh and go back to sleep.

They drug me everyday. I say "everyday" but to be honest my days are now only minutes long, from the moment I wake up to the moment they realise I'm awake and inject me with more drugs. I vaguely remember that days used to be hours long, and they would begin with the sun rising and end with it setting. I've forgotten the warmth of the sun, and the feel of a breeze on my face. Whenever the solitary door to my cell is opened, there is nothing but the sound of footsteps coming towards me. I don't even feel the needle entering my neck and I usually don't hear the door close on their way out.

As the door opens and reveals a man in a white lab coat, I let out an involuntary groan and I'm startled at my own voice in the quiet. The man smiles cruelly, as he moves closer; we both know what's about to happen. Same old, same old. How many times has this happened? I wonder absently as the man is at my bedside, flicking the air bubbles out of the syringe.

Today, however, the syringe never makes it to my neck. I'm not sure what's happening as the man in the white lab coat turns his head to the open door. I leave my head in it's constant position, facing the deserted corridor beyond the door, curious as to the noises I can hear. A few times before, the people in white coats would mutter something or talk quietly to each other while near me, but I hadn't heard such a loud sound in so long that it was both frightening and exciting at the same time.

Suddenly an alarm sounds and makes me visibly jump. The movement makes me more frightened as I don't remember the last time I have had enough energy to move so much. The man in the white lab coat didn't see me move and once the siren sounded he cursed under his breath and hurried from the room, closing the door behind him.

Looking at the back of the rusted door, I am once again in silence. I wonder what is happening outside, and as the drug wares off more than it has in a long time, I find that feeling is beginning to return to my body. A finger twitches spontaneously and then my foot spasms; soon I cannot stop the constant twitching of my limbs as nerve endings become aware of their surroundings.

I hear a loud bang outside, as if something hit the wall of my cell, and in fright my head jumps up from the mattress where it once lay. I realise that I can now feel my whole body and, with some difficulty, and a lot of stiff joints, I manoeuvre myself to sit up. Leaning against the wall of my cell but still on the mattress, I get an overwhelming urge to stand up and escape, as if my life depended on it. I suppose that it does, and all of a sudden I feel scared. In my drug addled state I had forgotten about fear, but now that I was becoming aware of my surroundings, that fear grew.

The walls were grey, peeling and – is that blood? I try not to think what some of the stains could be.

The only door to my cell is a large, rusted metal, rectangle. I'm surprised that it doesn't creak when opened, but then I consider the possibility that I just hadn't noticed. The fear inside me grows. I look down at my useless legs which have decided to go to sleep once more and notice the mattress beneath me. It is a yellow colour that must have been white once, and all I can think is that I am glad I hadn't known the disgusting nature of my bed until now. I notice that my clothes are not much better, but at least they don't seem stained too badly, and I was glad for the decency of cloth trousers and t-shirt, rather than a hospital gown or similar unflattering gear.

The clang of the metal door continues as if someone were trying to break it down. I consider this a real possibility, but when you have no idea who could be looking for you, it's hard to imagine a rescue at all. Maybe one of the people in white coats lost the keys.

As my body remains limp my brain seems to insist on the need to get moving. The thought of needing to escape, constantly nagging at the back of my head, so much so that I only consider the possibility of running just to shut it up. I notice that there are a few thin, clear tubes running from my body and with a quick tug I remove the one that goes into my arm. I remove the catheter tubing a little more gently and my voice gives out a low groan, but I succeed and sharply pull if down my trouser leg and throw the damn thing away from me in distaste.

I look down at my legs once more, and with an amazing amount of willpower I force them to swing off the side of the bed. Once there I build up some tension in my arms before slowly lowering my self the few inches to the floor. I test my legs a little, putting some weight on them, but they soon give out and are quickly followed by my arms as my whole body collapses to the floor. Once again a groan leaves my mouth, and I grimace as I feel the tacky floor beneath my bare face and arms.

I pick myself back up as I notice that the banging at the door has ceased. My head is thankful for the peace but I feel my heart sink at the thought of being alone. The conflicting emotions confuse me and I quickly push them aside as I clutch onto the mattress and begin pulling myself up again. Unfortunately I only make it to my knees before I start feeling totally drained. I want to go to sleep but my brain keeps telling me to run, however the thoughts get overtaken as a loud, ear-piercing sound erupts from behind the door.

Sparks leap from a silver line which appears on my side of the door. The shock of the noise and the sparks makes me freeze in shock and fear, and I watch the silver line slowly grow, like a deer in the headlights. I don't realise how tightly I am clinging to the metal of the bed until the noise stops and slowly the metal door falls inwards.

The movement was like slow motion as I watch it fall to the ground with an almighty crash. I watch it fall and my eyes are looking down when the first person walks into my cell. I see the shoes first and as my head slowly lifts, still in slow motion, the man before me comes into full view. I think he looks weird, dressed in a bright blue with a light blue sash, but something about his silly costume and little hat makes my heart leap with joy.

Before I know it, I am being embraced whole-heartedly, but my grip on the bed frame does not waver. After a moment the man realises that I am still rigid, and releases me. The sudden lack of support almost sends me crashing to the ground once more but the man is quick to put an arm around me and keep me steady. I immediately feel safe with his arm around me and I know that I can trust him. That I know him. My body, seemingly pleased with this news, decides to give up the ghost and soon I am on the floor but this time my upper body rests in the man's arms as he looks down at me worriedly.

He yells in the direction of the door – something incomprehensible to my tired brain - and as I lazily turn my head I notice two more men clad in blue staring at me with tears in their eyes. I turn my head back to the man above me and suddenly feel a strange sensation down my cheek. I lift my hand and quickly realise that it's a tear, and soon there were more. I couldn't understand why I was crying; surely I should have cried when I was in danger not now that I am safe?

I'm not entirely sure what happened next, but I know I must have passed out. There was a point I remember when we left the building and the brilliant sun invaded my darkness. I opened my eyes blearily, and realised that I was outside; it felt like it had been years since I last felt the wind on my skin, and even as my skin prickled with a chill, it made me happy. I caught the eyes of the man carrying me and smiled up at him. He smiled too and said words that, again I couldn't make out, but his voice comforted me and I soon drifted back to sleep.

* * *

I wake up to the steady hum of machines and my right hand firmly clasped by another. At the thought my hand involuntarily twitches and immediately someone is calling out my name in a nervous but excited tone. My name, that's right I remember my name; how could I have forgotten?

"Alan, son can you hear me? Open your eyes for me Alan, please just open you eyes."

The voice is persistent and I eventually force my heavy eyelids to lift. I'm slightly surprised by how close my father is to me but his dark brown eyes comfort my nerves and I relax as memories of the life I had come flooding back. A moment later and it is as if I had never forgotten anything in the first place. Happily, I crack a smile,

"Hey dad" I rasp out, "Where've you been?"

At first Jeff smiles but then the relief washes over him and he laughs for the first time in ages.

At the noise, my brothers all come filing in sending happy greetings my way and crowding round my bed. I notice Brains, Kyrano and Tin-Tin at the door but they stay back, respectfully and after satisfying their need to see me awake, they leave, closing the door quietly after them. Although I want to see Tin-Tin almost as much as the rest of my family, I am content to just be with my brothers and father.

"So, what did I miss?" I ask.

All the faces around my bed seem to take on a harder edge all of a sudden, and I immediately want to retract my question and bring the joy back into the room, but I know that I must find out the truth.

"What do you remember?" Jeff asks tentatively.

I shrug and think about it seriously for a while before answering,

"Not much, I know I was being drugged to stay asleep. I was in... New York, and then I don't really..."

"It's my fault, I'm so sorry Alan!" Gordon suddenly blurted out.

Virgil put a comforting hand on Gordon's quivering shoulder, while Scott quickly admonishes,

"No Gordon, it was those... those... bad men" he says through gritted teeth making me grin slightly at the word he probably wanted to use,

"But if I hadn't been late then Alan wouldn't have been waiting there for me."

"Gordon" Jeff reprimands gently, "This wasn't a random attack. These men had it planned out for a long time." Jeff turns his attention to me and sighs before saying, "Three men grabbed you in New York and they demanded money. Unfortunately during the whole process they figured out that we were the Thunderbirds and soon they were asking for a lot more than just money."

Suddenly I feel panic build up as the thought hits home,

"They did?" I gasped, "Do they know everything? are they still out there?"

Jeff makes shushing sounds and Scott calmly responds,

"It's all sorted Sprout, no need to worry. Lady Penelope is dealing with them as we speak."

"How long was I held hostage?"

"Two weeks." Jeff replies hesitantly.

The shock hits me hard and I am about to voice that panic when John speaks,

"It's OK, calm down, we've got you back and the bad guys have been caught. It's all going to be OK now."

I don't quite believe but straight after John, Virgil adds,

"You aren't physically hurt too badly wither. I've checked you over, and other than losing a little tone in your limbs, you'll be fine to do everything on your own in a matter of weeks."

"Yeah, and I'll make it up to you Alan, I promise, we are going to have so much fun once you're out of the medi-bay!"

"Why do I feel like out island is going to become a war zone?" Jeff asks sadly, rubbing his forehead in concern.

We all laugh heartily and a few more joking comments are passed between everyone.

I happily let their childish behaviour wash over me for now. I know I'm going to take a while to fully recover both bodily and mentally, but at this moment I'm happy. I feel safe and alive for the first time in ages and as I relax back into the bed and close my eyes, my family realise that I am almost unconscious and tell me to get some rest; that they'll leave me in peace, and I smile, even with my eyes closed. I am finally home.

The End

* * *

Thank you for reading the first fanfic I have had the nerve to upload _ Please give me honest/helpful reviews and if you like it I hope to upload more very soon (with chapters next time) ^_^


End file.
